THE DAILY BRIEFING
■ OIL FALLS After Saudi Arabia and Russia said they could increase supplies, the oil price fell again. Brent crude topped $80 a barrel in recent days, but dipped back towards $75.
■ THANKS, MUM The bank of mum and dad will be behind more than one in four house
sales in 2018. Some 27pc of buyers will receive help from friends or family, up from 25pc in 2017, according to forecasts from Legal and General and economics consultancy Cebr.
This year the bank of mum and dad will help 316,600 loved ones buy a home, up from 298,300 in 2017, according to predictions. ■ GRILLING EXPECTED Executives at Royal Bank of Scotland are expecting a barrage of questions from shareholders over dividends and reprivatisation at the lender’s annual meeting tomorrow in Edinburgh. It is also likely to be grilled over plans to shut 162 branches in England and Wales following a review of its network.
■ BEAUTY DEAL Beauty multinational L’Oreal signed a licensing deal with luxury fashion house Valentino to create and distribute its fragrances and beauty range.
■ WATCHDOG VETTING The number of senior managers in financial services firms facing vetting interviews by the City watchdog, the Financial Conduct
Authority, jumped by 33pc in the past year, according to legal firm Cleveland & Co, as it scrutinises whether people applying for senior positions are right for the job.
■ FOOTBALL BONANZA Slug and Lettuce and Yates owner
Stonegate Pub Company expects to rake in £6m worth of sales over the course of the FIFA World Cup. Stonegate has 700 managed pubs and bars across the UK.
■ YORKSHIRE BOOM Potash miner Sirius Minerals’ new fertiliser mining project in North Yorkshire will boost Britain’s economy by £2.3bn a year after Brexit, says an independent report.
■ SHAME CASH Tory party donor Julian Richer, the boss of hi-fi retailer Richer Sounds, is bankrolling a new watchdog, Taxwatch, to name and shame multinational companies and individuals who avoid paying tax.
■ CVA ‘ABUSE’ Retail property industry body Revo has written to MPs urging them to look into the number of company voluntary
arrangements being used by firms and their impact on towns and city centres. Revo said the insolvency procedure was being abused to reduce rent costs and terminate leases.
■ PRICEY BEER London beer prices are twice as expensive as in other parts of the UK, a new study has found.
A pint is £5.19 in the capital, £2.35 in Carlisle, £2.60 in Chelmsford and £ 2.75 in Newport, research by price comparison firm Money Guru showed. ■ PROFITS ROCKET Profits earned by Chinese industrial
firms in April rose at their fastest pace in six months, says the National Bureau of Statistics, as factories benefited from higher prices and strong demand.